I never thought I’d know what Gabby’s Dollhouse is, but there you have it. You can’t control cultural phenomena. I have kids so it’s inescapable. There’s also something to be said for letting your kids be products of their time and not some unrelatable fossils. Do I want my kids to be well-versed in Bugs Bunny and Warner Brothers cartoons? Yes. But, instead they’re really into Gabby’s Dollhouse, Kpop Demon Hunters, and Pokemon. That last one has kind of bridged...

Bloodshot Bill So Fed Up (Goner Records) The moment I first saw Bloodshot Bill will forever be burned into both my eyeballs and my memory. It was at the Middle East in Cambridge while waiting for the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion to go on. And here comes this guy, wearing a robe, hair slicked back, armed with nothing but a guitar, bass drum and hi hat. What followed was thirty minutes of raging thunder honky tonk country music powered by...

WHO: Pulp WHAT: More WHY: I should have known my love for Pulp runs too deep for this album not be one of my highlights of the year. I thought it was just OK at first, but the more I listen to it (and I mean REALLY listen), the more I started appreciating what Jarvis was cooking. More sounds distinctly Brit-Pop, which now is just rock with pop tendencies. This is a more grown-up Pulp: interested in appreciating and loving...

A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Jealous Butcher reissue of the Meaningless LP by Jon Brion. Sometimes, as good as a record might be, it just cannot buy a break. Take the Jealous Butcher reissue of Jon Brion’s Meaningless LP, for example; even a cursory listen effortlessly illustrates the album’s power pop perfection but, released as it was alongside albums like Gorillaz’ self-titled debut, Ani DiFranco’a Revelling/Reckoning, Sum 41’s All Killer, No Filler and Exciter by Depeche...

Superman I can’t believe it took 10 years of underwhelming, banal, trite superhero movies for people to finally realize that they’re not really worth watching. I get it: Marvel and DC are gonna keep pumping out shitty movie after shitty movie as long as people will watch them, so in some respects, the public is to blame. If you’re watching these movies because there’s nothing else out that everyone can agree to see, I get it. If you’re watching...

A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Burn All The Ships LP by Headstones. Since returning in 2013 with Love + Fury, the Headstones have illustrated that they can orchestrate a comeback with greater competence than most other bands. Over the last twelve years, the band has come back in a manner similar to how Hard Core Logo did in Bruce MacDonald’s mock/rockumentary before stripping their sound to bare bones, picking up acoustic instruments and revisiting their early...

WHO: The Darkness WHAT: Dreams on Toast WHY: It doesn’t have the kind of bangers you get from their first two albums, but Dreams On Toast grows on you the more you listen to it. Full of clever lyrics and outstandingly catchy choruses, this album pivots slightly to country but is still strongest when it sticks to what the Darkness does best: rock ‘n’ roll. Skip the “members” version which adds several skippable tracks and opt for the standard version...

Jurassic World: Rebirth Life is full of surprises, and you gotta be open to letting them happen. That breakfast sandwich you never cared for can somehow suddenly hit the spot. That album you never understood can suddenly resonate. My Hollywood surprise of the year is Jurassic World: Rebirth. The Jurassic Park IP has been squalid for decades. The best it could do was that Chris Pratt meme where he holds his hands open towards the raptors. What was he...

Photos by Allison...

WHO: Viagra Boys WHAT: Viagr aBoys WHY: I never thought I’d give this band a shot, but all the right people were fans: people with good taste on social media, music publications with good taste (like CREEM), and bands with actual integrity. Who was I to argue? Of course, I’m late to the game (they were on the Daily Show!?), but better late than never. Viagra Boys is rocking’, nihilistic, vulgar and honest – with itself and with itself. It’s...